express

/ɪkˈspɹɛs/

express adjective: moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.

Adjective

express (comparative more express, superlative most express)

(not comparable) Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.

Synonyms:

fast, crack
(comparable) Specific or precise; directly and distinctly stated; not merely implied.
- I gave him express instructions not to begin until I arrived, but he ignored me.
- This book cannot be copied without the express permission of the publisher.
Synonyms:

explicit, plain, clear, direct, monosemic, monosemous, patent, specific, unambiguous, unequivocal

Antonyms:

implied
Truly depicted; exactly resembling.
- In my eyes it bore a livelier image of the spirit, it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided countenance.
- Soon as the potion works, their human countenance, / The express resemblance of the gods, is changed / Into some brutish form, of wolf, or bear, / Or ounce, or tiger, hog, or bearded goat, / All other parts remaining as they were[…]1634, John Milton, edited by Homer Sprague, The Mask of Comus, New York: J. W. Schermerhorn & Co., published 1876, page 253
(postpositional) Providing a more limited but presumably faster service than a full or complete dealer of the same kind or type.
- Tesco Express
- McDonald's Express

Noun (1)

express (plural expresses)

A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly, either on a regular schedule or as a special or excursion. Express trains often pass through stations along the way without stopping at them.
- I took the express into town.
- Your attention please. Train 4715 is now boarding on track 3, section B. This train is an express. This train does not stop at Foo, Bar, or Fubar stations.
Antonyms:

local, stopper
1. (Philippines, chiefly Metro Manila) a public utility vehicle, typically a jeepney, that traverses through an expressway
A service that allows mail or money to be sent rapidly from one destination to another.
An express rifle.
- "Give me my express," I said, laying down the Winchester, and he handed it to me cocked.1885, H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines
(obsolete) A clear image or representation; an expression; a plain declaration.
- And this [holy communion] being the great myſtery of Chriſtianity, and the onely remanent expreſſe of Chriſts ſacrifice on earth, it is moſt conſonant to the Analogy of the myſtery, that this commemorative ſacrifice be preſented by perſons as ſeparate, and diſtinct in our miniſtery, […]1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, “Section V”, in Clerus Domini: or, A Discourse of the Divine Institution, Necessity, Sacrednesse, and Separation of the Office Ministerial. […], London: […] R[ichard] Royston...
A messenger sent on a special errand; a courier.
- I learned, to my inexpressible terror, that at two o'clock, the day before, an express had been sent to Geraldine by Mr Bergasse, with a letter, which he had received from the Hotel de Romagnecourt.1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 381
An express office.
- She charged him […] to ask at the express if anything came up from town.1873, Edward Everett Hale, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
That which is sent by an express messenger or message.
- popular captations, which some men use in their Speeches, and Expresses1648, attributed to Charles I of England, Εἰκὼν Βασιλική [Eikōn Basilikē = Royal Portrait]. The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Maiestie, in His Solitvdes and Svfferings
- “5th, If an express requires extraordinary despatch, the man-mountain shall be obliged to carry, in his pocket, the messenger and horse a six days journey, once in every moon, and return the said messenger back (if so required) safe to our imperial presence.1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput)

Adverb

express

Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.
- The train runs express to 96 St.

Verb

express (third-person singular simple present expresses, present participle expressing, simple past and past participle expressed)

(transitive) To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit.
- Words cannot express the love I feel for him.
- We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith. As we reached the lodge we heard the whistle, and we backed up against one side of the platform as the...1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC
Synonyms:

outspeak, utter, articulate, common, communicate, convey, share, make known, portray, put
(transitive) To press, squeeze out (especially said of milk).
- The people of his island of Rokovoko, it seems, at their wedding feasts express the fragrant water of young cocoanuts into a large stained calabash like a punchbowl […]1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 13”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC
- It contained many cysts which were filled with sagolike granules that could be expressed under pressure.1949, United States Naval Medical Bulletin, volume 49, number 1, page 61
To translate messenger RNA into protein.
To transcribe deoxyribonucleic acid into messenger RNA.
- When a cell “expresses” a gene, it translates the DNA first into a signature messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence and subsequently into a chain of amino acids that forms a protein.2015 November 28, Ferris Jabr, “How Humans Ended Up With Freakishly Huge Brains”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2016

Noun (2)

express (plural expresses)

(obsolete) The action of conveying some idea using words or actions; communication, expression.
- Whereby they discoursed in silence, and were intuitively understood from the theory of their expresses.1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, V.20
(obsolete) A specific statement or instruction.
- This Gentleman [...] caused a man to go down no less than a hundred fathom, with express to take notice whether it were hard or soft in the place where it groweth.1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, II.5

express meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

express in Hindi

to convey meaning: व्यक्त करना vyakt karnā

express in Tamil

வெளிப்படுத்து, தெரிவி, விரைவு வண்டி, விரைவான

express in Marathi

व्यक्त करा, एक्स्प्रेस करा, एक्स्प्रेस

express in Urdu

to express, convey: اظہار کرنا izhār karnā

More languagesFewer languages

express in Bengali: দ্রুত প্রেরণ, দ্রুতভাবে প্রেরিত বার্তা, দ্রুতগামী গাড়ি, দ্রুতগামী ডাক
express in Malayalam: പ്രകടിപ്പിക്കുക, വേഗതയേറിയ
express in Kannada: ವೇಗದ ರೈಲು ಬಂಡಿ, ವೇಗ ಪ್ರಯಾಣದ ಸಾಧನ, ಕ್ಷಿಪ್ರ ಸೇವೆ, ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸು
express in Punjabi: ਐਕਸਪ੍ਰੈੱਸ, ਐਕਸਪ੍ਰੈੱਸ ਕਰੋ, ਐਕਸਪ੍ਰੈਸ
express in Gujarati: વ્યક્ત કરો, અભિવ્યક્ત કરો, એક્સપ્રેસ કરો
express in Odia: ଏକ୍ସପ୍ରେସ୍ କରନ୍ତୁ, ଅଭିବ୍ଯ଼କ୍ତ କରନ୍ତୁ, ବ୍ଯ଼କ୍ତ କରିବା
express in Nepali: व्यक्त गर्नुहोस्, एक्सप्रेस, एक्सप्रेस गर्नुहोस्
express in Arabic: عَبَّرَ ʕabbara
express in Malay: ligas, pantas, laju, ekspres
express in Thai: รถด่วน rót-dùuan
express in Vietnamese: biểu hiện

Examples of express in a sentence

This step has been taken at the express wish of readers despite the present paper and production difficulties.1949 November and December, “Return to Monthly Publication”, in Railway Magazine, page 351:
The swift express had changed into something almost a parliamentary, had stopped three times since Norwich, and now, at long last, was approaching Banton.1931, Francis Beeding, “1/1”, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
This is also a TransPennine Express service which makes a mockery of the word 'express'.2023 November 1, Philip Haigh, “TPE must choose the right route to a brighter future”, in RAIL, number 995, page 56:
So much was Sir Edward delighted that he sent an express to inform Lord Meersbrook of this great act of friendship, in order that he might be the more easy on their account;...1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter LX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume III...

All 40 example sentences with express

Synonyms of express

13 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of express

Forms of express

Adjective
comparative	more express
superlative	most express
Noun
plural	expresses
Verb
third-person singular present	expresses
present participle	expressing
past participle	expressed
past	expressed

Past tense of express: expressed

Plural of express: expresses

Origin of express

From French exprès, from Latin expressus, past participle of exprimere (see Etymology 2, below).

From Old French espresser, expresser, from frequentative form of Latin exprimere.

Phrases with express

3 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with express

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about express

What does express mean?: Express means moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.
What is express in Hindi?: Express in Hindi is व्यक्त करना (vyakt karnā). See Express meaning in Hindi.
How do you use express in a sentence?: This step has been taken at the express wish of readers despite the present paper and production difficulties.
What part of speech is express?: Express can be an adjective, a noun, an adverb or a verb.
How do you pronounce express?: Express is pronounced /ɪkˈspɹɛs/.

Words near express in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: express (page history and authors); express (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); express (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); اظہار کرنا (Urdu) (page history and authors); express (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); express (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); express (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); express (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); express (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); express (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); express (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-express.ogg.

Cite this entry: “express.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/express. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.